Ouch! Once again, one of them found me, worked its way past the defenses of long pants or gloves to bite into my skin and hang there.

Why do plants have thorns? How can we enjoy the sweet smell of the bright flowers, or the watery nectar of berries and other fruits if it hurts us to get close?

I can’t count how many times thorns have made my life miserable. From scratches from berry plants and rose bushes to thorns from cockle …

We’ve all seen these wiggly things on the surface of the ground, brown and purple, long and thin. Sometimes, we’ve dug them up and taken them with us to be fish bait on a
fishing trip. Sometimes, we notice them  burned to a crisp after trying to cross hot concrete on a sunny day. Sometimes, they seem to have drowned in a pool of water after an abundant
rain.

We all know what an …

Something different today. My own meditation – about moons and the week of summer solstice in two different worlds.

I experienced nature in a different way last week — and  practiced what I preach. (That is, nature is beautiful and special and should be enjoyed and cared for wherever you are!)

I left my forested eastern Oklahoma home for the desert, where I will have a new, part-time home. I feel a little schizophrenic, living in these two worlds so different from one another.
…

The Farmer’s Almanac is one of my favorite places to go to find bits of info about gardening, cooking and life in general. Today, I’m sharing some of the
favorite sayings appearing in issues of the Almanac’s engagement calendar for June. (Almanac.com)

Gardening

• To prevent spreading plant diseases, don’t work in the garden when it is wet.
• To keep slugs away from seedlings sprinkle hair clippings around the plants.
• If you …

How long has it been since you set off on a ‘great adventure?’ Many of the people I know see life as hum-drum. The days and weeks and years have fallen into routine. They
see no challenges ahead, except perhaps for dealing with middle age’s aches and pains, and retirement money worries.

How life has changed! I think we all need to be shaken up once and a while, to have an adventure, to tackle something we’ve never done before, to …

I remember once when a professor of mine asked this question of the class: You’ve just gone to the wilderness. Where are you going?

For most of us the answer was a forested area, sometimes in the mountains, but sometimes not. Within the class of twenty or so, not one person thought of grassland, or desert or seashore as
wilderness.

So, where would you be going if you were going wilderness camping?

In my mind, wilderness evokes …

B

Storms and devastation seem to be all around us this spring, especially in my home state of Oklahoma. It is good to pause, and think about the fact that this is the way it
has always been. A calm peaceful day where you live may be the scene of a natural disaster some place else. We live each day with the possibility of these disasters.

Today, think on this writing about Nature’s Fury, by John A. Murray, editor of The Quotable …